Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin Ill on Coalition Strikes in Houthi-Controlled Areas of YemenJoint Statement From Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Canada, the[...]

Today, the militaries of the United States and the United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, conducted strikes against military targets in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. Coalition forces targeted eight locations, which included Houthi underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, air defense systems, radars, and a helicopter, to further disrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia to conduct their destabilizing and reckless attacks against U.S. and international vessels lawfully transiting the Red Sea, the Bab AI-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden.

The United States will not hesitate to take action, as needed, to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways. We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal attacks, which harm Middle Eastern economies, cause environmental damage, and disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen and other countries.